Using Wedding Gifts for Downpayment

      

In times past, newly wed home buyers would be dismayed to learn that they could not use wedding gift money for their cash down payment.  I mean, after all, it was their money!  But mortgage loan underwriters didn’t quite see it that way.  But, alas, it appears that common sense may be creeping into the mortgage process.

 

Caliber Home Loan’s Mike Wickham tells me that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now buy mortgages where wedding gift money was used for the down payment, provided that some basic documentation is included in the loan file.  The docs would take the form of a copy of the wedding certificate or license, and a letter from the borrowers certifying the funds were wedding gifts and that no repayment was Kexpected from the giver.

I’m guessing this might give creative wedding planning a whole new meaning!  If you’d like to learn more about how to best prepare to buy a new home, give me a call!